Special Thanks to Tommy and Christina: George & Gracie’s Landlords

From Tommy & Christina

We are wishing you the best Memorial Day ever for all men and women who serve or have served the country. To all doctors, nurses and first responders on the front line, we thank you for your service. Thank you to all of OspreyZone’s team and fans, and to Paul, Sue and Aidan. God bless us all.

Belle’s Journey

Written by Dr. Rob Bierregaard & Illustrated by Kate Garchinsky

Take flight with Belle, an osprey born on Martha’s Vineyard as she learns to fly and migrates for the first time to Brazil and back–a journey of more than 8,000 miles.

IMPORTANT: Messages from osprey experts

Rob Bierregaard July 1, 2015 at 7:24 am
I haven’t seen the little guy yet this morning, but I would be very surprised if he survived the night. That sure was tough to watch yesterday, but that whole process is as much a part of the essence of being an Osprey as is eating a fish. It’s part of the life of Ospreys that was rarely seen before we started putting cameras in nests. As hard as it is, we should not label the behavior as mean or cruel. Being mean or cruel implies that there is intent to do harm just for harm’s sake. Those young were responding to a set of stimuli (very little food being delivered to the nest and the presence of a very small young) in a way that evolution has hard-wired into them. It helps ensure their survival. Nature is not cruel. It is harsh, unforgiving, and often random (had the little guy been born 1st, he would have been just as aggressive as was his sibling), but not cruel or mean.

Paul Henry ospreyzone July 1, 2015 at 8:17 am
Thanks Rob for bringing your knowledge and experience to help us all gain perspective here. We are all saddened by the events that unfolded before our eyes and it’s only natural for all of us to feel and express our emotions appropriately. There have been many issues pertaining to intervention which have been discussed amongst us all. There is no doubt in my mind that the right decision was made, to let nature take it’s course. By the way, that doesn’t equate to heartless, on the contrary, nobody feels worse about this then the apparent decision makers. I say apparent, because when all was said and done, and all the issues were properly weighed, there really weren’t any other options. It was clearly pointed out, by experts, that intervening at this stage could have spooked the whole nest to the point of losing all the young. If the little one was saved, and nursed back to health, what kind of a life would it have had, perhaps caged up in a zoo. I remember when I was younger I saw a golden eagle in captivity, caged behind a wire mesh. I could practically see it’s tears. As far as placing the little one in another nest, such a low probability of success would never have justified the possibility of spooking the nest. There’s a piece of me, however heavy hearted, that believes that perhaps it is better to be born free and die free. We mourn for the little one as we marvel at the wonders of nature.

Reprinted with the permission of John W. Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Hello Paul,

Thanks for your query, and you have my admiration for persevering. We know very well how tough your job is, including dealing with an anxious public.

Our policy with our Bird Cams project is essentially “just say no” to pleas for interference. The behavior you are witnessing – while seemingly cruel and heartless to us – is natural for many kinds of birds, especially those that feed on variable, unpredictable food supplies. The little nestling does have a chance to survive, but if it does not then that result was “meant to be” by the nature of Osprey breeding strategy. The wonderful things about these nest cameras also sometimes yield the difficult things for us to watch. As you might know, we actually post a “siblicide alert” on some of our cams where we suspect the possibility exists.

I’m copying your note to Charles Eldermire, project leader for our Bird Cams. He may have some additional comments, and he would be the one to ask if we might be able to use your stored files for biological analysis.

It’s also important to acknowledge that intervening can also cause problems of its own—depending on the ages of the birds in the nest, disturbing them can trigger an early fledge. We have restricted the scenarios in which we would even consider intervening to injuries or dangers that are explicitly human-derived. For example, 3 or 4 years ago we were alerted by viewers that one of the osprey chicks at the Hellgate Osprey nest was entangled in monofilament line. We consulted with our partners there (wildlife biologists, raptor researchers, raptor rehabbers) to determine if the monofilament was an issue, and if intervening was both likely to solve the issue AND not have bad effects on the other nestlings. In the end, a quick trip to the nest was scheduled via a bucket truck, the monofilament was removed, and the nestlings all eventually fledged. In that case, all of the permits were already in hand to be studying the ospreys, and we had already discussed how to approach issues in the nest.

I’ve been to your site—great cam! And I noticed the runt in the nest. This is just normal Osprey reproduction. It happens all the time and you should not intervene. It’s tough to watch, but it’s how nature works. Ospreys almost always lay 3 eggs and on average fledge between 1 and 1.5 young each year. They stagger the hatch so there is a spread of ages in the young. That way, if food is short, the first-hatched (and therefore largest) will get enough food to survive while the smaller nest mates do not. If all three young were the same size and there was only enough food for 1 young, none of the young would get enough food and they would all die. If there’s lots of food, the smallest will eventually get fed and can survive. These nest cams can show some gut-wrenching scenes. The most infamous perhaps was one of the very first Osprey cams (on Long Island somewhere), where the smallest young died. One of the adults carried it out of the nest and after several minutes flew back into the nest and fed it to the other young. Waste-not-want-not at its goriest. At Hog Island up in Maine just last week a Bald Eagle came in and took the young out of the nest. Last year at another nest, cameras documented a Great-horned Owl taking young Ospreys out of a nest in NJ or MD. All of these things have been going on for millions of years and Ospreys are doing fine.

You have to look closely…. there IS a fish there….. still wiggling, so it’s whole…. and black…
Jane had a hard time getting a claw on it, but she took it to go. What’s the expression? Good things come in small packages????

Jane headed up early…….
Slight chance of a shower…. we had one run through on the South Fork before…. it was so quick it was over in about a minute!
Skies clearing after midnight and looks like a sunny morning…….temps bottom out about 40.

Yes, thanks, seemed as if he was cleaning the bark off the stick, I guess in a way, he was.

Lots of drama, hoping it doesn’t interfere with our normal sequence of events.

We’re working on posting regular highlights, as current as possible, just playing with it right now. I’m wondering if any of our knowledgeable viewers would be willing to help us with some informative copy for voiceovers. We’d like to make these highlights not only enjoyable, but an educational experience for our viewers, especially kid’s home from school, their teachers and parents etc. let me know if anyone would be willing or even if you can recommend anyone who might be interested.

Many thanks to all who have contributed and participated over the years.

Depending on the technical requirements ( I’m not exactly savvy ! ) , it’s something I would be interested in doing. I’ve been watching this nest since it’s inception and to boot I have a clear speaking voice 😀

Head markings, bib and some face markings help, too. But things change with movement and action can be fairly fast. I also wonder if, as thy molt and regrow feathers , can those also change? It’s not that easy, at least for me….

George flies in…. pointing right at his target…
He puts it on her and she moves away, only to have him wrestle the stick after her…
She winds up straddling the stick, which gets stuck in her tail…. every time she tries to move, the stick moves too!
She took off to get away from it…

I have gotten a message from Betsy, who is a long time watcher, who says there are 3 females coming to the nest, one who looks similar to the original Jane. If that is the case, I will never get them straight!
But it would explain why I have been saying there are 2 males that look alike. George would act differently with another female, more deferential, than he does with original Jane or J2…..

The one who similar to Jane is the one you call J2. I saw 4 flying around earlier so there are quite a few, probably more than we know. I just hope someone lays eggs! Females don’t stay fertile all season!

I’m thinking this is “Romeo” the stray, from the way Jane acted towards him. She flapped at him, as if wanting him to leave.
I’m admittedly having a hard time telling him and George apart except for the way Jane acts. I thought he was in earlier, trying to land on Jane. He managed to get his feet on her and she just shrugged him off.

A fly-over, possibly J2, made Jane react and this guy startled, like he got caught! He settled right back in to hang out for a bit.

I have been lurking for several years but have not posted. So Hi everyone.
What I am wondering is whether these intruder birds could be from George and Jane’s previous clutches. Could they be yearling or second yearlings trying to return to their birthnest?
Do Osprey do that?

Hi Joy, it could be second or third year birds returning. Males tend to return to the area of the natal nest more than females, who generally end up much further away. They could have originated from other nests in the area also. No way to tell as there are no bands.

Once again… confusion…..
Jane2 came in and was eating her fish at the nest. She is joined by a male I was guessing was “Romeo”, the stray male who has been hanging around. He was strutting around and showing himself off so prettily!
But he looks so much like George! I had thought so previously, but I honestly can’t make a call this time….. no mating occurred, just flirting.
I don’t want to say “philander” but we have been watching how quickly George switches sides! ( and yes, I know, they’re birds, not people!.. Just kidding)

After rewatching , I’ve realized that was Jane2 who was on the nest when George brought the fish. He flew over her once. When he came back, I believe it was JANE following him and chased J2 off the nest. She was out for a long time after that…… Her fish was well earned.

Battle! Fast and Furious!
Jane was on nest and saw it coming…. have to believe it’s Jane2….
Jane flipped over to get her talons forward; debris flew everywhere and Jane went over the edge.,……. incredible how quick it was!

If the eggs are laid by the end of May, first week in June, the chicks will have time to grow, fledge and leave on migration. It’s not etched in stone though. I have seen many photos of young ospreys on Long Island in late Oct and some in early Nov. Of course some of these can be traveling ospreys from much further north, stopping by on their way.